Eric R. A. N. Smith, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
Eric R.A.N. Smith is associate professor of political science and environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his A.B., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. He taught at Brandeis University and then at Columbia University before moving to U.C. Santa Barbara. From 1996 to 1997 he was the director of U.C. Santa Barbara's Washington D.C. Center. His research focuses on public opinion, elections, and environmental politics. Dr. Smith is the author of The Unchanging American Voter (University of California Press), Energy, the Environment, and Public Opinion (Rowman & Littlefield), and numerous articles in journals such as American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Political Psychology, and Society and Natural Resources. Professor Smith enjoys teaching and has taught a wide range of classes-including introduction to American government and politics, public opinion and elections, political parties, Congress, and environmental politics. He believes that to understand and appreciate politics, students should both study academic theories about politics and be exposed to real politics and politicians. Toward that end, Professor Smith teaches his Congress course based on a simulation of the U.S. House of Representatives; he regularly brings politicians into his classes to talk with his students; and he sponsors dozens of internships in local, state, and national politics. Smith is not only a scholar who studies politics; he is also an active participant inpolitics. He sponsors one of the political clubs on his campus and has worked in campaigns ranging from local to national office.